Products

e-AR

The design of the e-AR sensor was inspired by the human inner ear. The human inner ear consists of an auditory system (the cochlea) and a balancing (vestibular) system. To emulate the sensory functions of the human vestibular system, the e-AR sensor is equipped with a MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) sensor which is capable of detecting motion and acceleration in 3 dimensions. By positioning the sensor on the ear, the e-AR sensor can pick up similar information to the vestibular system, and this records the posture and activities of the user.

The sensor is one of the lightest in the market (7.4 g). Through the use of innovative bio-inspired designs and effective use of the body as the media (the human skeleton as the wave guide), the sensor provides an ideal means of observing key biophysical indices such as gait, posture and activities of daily living without behaviour modification, thus ensuring its high user compliance. The lightweight and ergonomic nature of the device minimises stigma and also allows its use in different locations.

By positioning the sensor stably behind the ear, it ensures the consistency of the sensor signals, thus minimising intra- and inter-subject variability. Unlike available sensors that are normally worn on the waist, the chest, the arm or the wrist, the sensor does not obstruct physical motion. In addition, the shape of the sensor was designed through a thorough ergonomic study on typical ear shapes and sizes, and it is designed to fit comfortably on most adult ears.

The e-AR sensor has a built-in processor and flash memory enable processing on node to providing intelligent sensing functions. In addition, with the built-in Bluetooth Smart (or Bluetooth Low Energy BLE) transceiver, the e-AR sensor can seamlessly integrated with smartphone and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Biomotion+

Human biomotion analysis has been widely used in a range of applications including filming, elite athletic training, entertainment, and clinical diagnosis. To quantify detailed posture, gait and movements of the subjects, most of the motion capture systems are still limited to laboratory-based settings. Current motion-tracking technologies can be mainly classified as optical, mechanical and inertial-sensor based tracking systems.

Optical motion tracking systems utilise data captured from image sensors to triangulate the 3D position of a subject between one or more calibrated cameras using special optical markers attached to a subject. The main disadvantages of these systems are associated with their high cost, complexity of the system setup and the inconvenience of these obtrusive markers, thus prohibiting its routine use in the free-living environment. Mechanical motion-capture systems directly track body joint movement using an exoskeleton or skeletal-like structure attached to the human body. Most platforms tend to be integrated as robotic platforms so as to provide mechanical support, feedback and control for limb rehabilitation applications. They are therefore limited to specialist rehabilitation clinics.

In contrast, inertial motion capture is based on inertial sensors and offers much greater ﬂexibility without spatial constraints as no external cameras, emitters or markers are required. The biomotion+ is a miniaturised inertial sensor which can be placed or worn on the body, and data can be wirelessly transmitted to a smart mobile for real-time capture and 3D reconstruction. The main beneﬁts of this wearable inertial sensor based system are that it provides a cost-effective means of real-time capture in free-living environment. Extensive studies have been conducted to demonstrate the accuracy of the platform and subject studies have been conducted to illustrate the feasibility of using the system for a range of clinical applications including sleep, posture, orthopaedic, and neuro-degenerative diseases rehabilitation.

Active Miles

Increasing physical activity has a direct relationship with weight control, reducing risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, strengthening muscles, and improving mental health. Deterioration in conditions such as heart arrhythmias, diabetes mellitus and hypertension (high blood pressure affecting more than 12 million individuals in the UK alone) is gradual and often subtle over time. For these conditions, continuous observation of activity levels as well as physiological parameters can provide more accurate diagnosis and tailored treatments for each subject, compared to the currently used snap-shot diagnosis and management. Increasing activity not only makes you feel better, it also helps prevent some of these conditions as proven by numerous medical studies. Unlike other sensors, ActiveMiles simply uses your mobile phone. Just carry your phone around and make sure you gain more miles by being active.

At the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2015, we launched the beta release of a brand new lifestyle app, ActiveMiles, which monitors personal activity and promotes behavioural change. ActiveMiles enables users to quantify and improve their wellbeing using a normal Android smartphone. The app includes automatic detection and monitoring of general activity (whether running, walking, travelling etc.), goal-setting and performance sharing with friends, GPS tracking, geolocation, and monitoring diet through barcode and image recognition. The app is also ideal for charity campaigns and fund-raising, where users can provide supporting retailers with QR codes of their recent activity in return for a discount for certain purchases.

ActiveMiles can be used for:

Sport and exercise;

Activities of daily living and behaviour profiling;

Social networking and ‘electronic loyalty card’ for promoting active lifestyles;

Tracking & sightseeing;

Fundraising;

Dietary monitoring.

eYe

The new eye sensor is a miniaturised context aware sensor. One of the smallest BLE sensor in the world. Embedded with the BLE transceiver, the sensor can be configured as Bluetooth iBeacon and can be attached to any ordinary objects for localisation. In addition, integrated with inertial sensor, the sensor can also capture the movement and activities of objects or subjects providing continuous sensing information for behavioural monitoring providing essential context for accurate detection.

BSN Development Kit

A BSN platform for rapid prototyping the design and development of BSN applications. The minimiaturised size and low power design enables development of light-weight wearable devices. The stackable design supports integration of different sening modailities. The Bluetooth Smart (BLE) transceiver enables seamless integration with smartphones and mobile devices.